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China space mission 'on course'
BEIJING, China -- China's first manned space mission is well on course to lift-off before the end of the year, the country's science minister has said. Without giving a date for the much-anticipated launch, Science and Technology Minister Xu Guanhua said preparations for the mission were proceeding "extremely smoothly." There had been some speculation that China would aim to launch the spacecraft, named Shenzhou V, on October 1 to coincide with Chinese national day. However, observers say that date now looks unlikely with final preparations pointing to a lift-off closer to the end of the year. A successful manned space mission would make China only the third country in the world capable of putting human beings in space -- an achievement China's leaders hope will be an immense source of national pride. However, tight security surrounds China's space effort, which has close ties to the military. Details such as launch dates and mission objectives are never announced in advance. Another closely guarded secret is the identity of China's first group of astronauts. In all China is thought to have a group of about 14 men groomed for future space missions, drawn from the elite of Chinese air force pilots and trained with Russian assistance. The first mission is expected to carry one or two of these men into space and into China's history books. To date the Shenzhou space capsule has had four unmanned test launches, all of which have been described by state media as successful. The massive cost of the space program has been criticized by some in China as wasteful in a country where many millions of people still struggle to earn a basic living. However, Xu said he hoped that the growth of China's space program would spur advances in other technologies. "On the one hand, we are playing close attention to the important achievements in space research and development our astronauts can make while in flight," he said. "On the other hand, we are looking forward to these technologies playing an even greater role in various aviation fields."
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